To give you a better idea of where I am coming from, I dont put Christianity, Buddhism etc on a pedestal either - most of us believe religion was man-made.
We are prepared to believe in a God, but he chose to deny us 1 iota of evidence? We suspect that is not because of any other reason than the fact he doesnt exist.
As you know it is entirely possible for humans to fabricate religions, take a look at all the historical and 'past expiry date' religions. We are not arrogant enough to believe Islam is any different just because our its our ancestral religion, and nor has it proved itself to be.
In any case you seem like a nice guy, with genuine motives. Good luck to you
+1
I have had a mixed response from family and friends. My family has taken it with a pinch of salt, and might be thinking that I'm going through some sort of phase. If they think that then so be it. My uncle has been an atheist for more than two decades and the family are still deluded into thinking he's going through a phase!
My friend's have had a slightly different reaction to my family. They have acknowledged that i've apostated and have taken it seriously. They have said that they don't want to engage in a debate, but I know they will have a go at some point. They are more concerned with the aftermath of it all and what it means in terms of my wife and kids, halal and haram etc etc.....
They understood that my worldview is different to theirs. But they have said at the same time that my wife is still muslim, therefore your marriage is null and void. As far as i'm concerned that comment falls on deaf ears. It's the same as saying "accept the blood of christ". They also asked me about halal and haram. I said that as far as i'm concerned, those injunctions don't hold for me, and as far as my marriage is concerned it's nobody else's business but mine.
What I don't get and what I find hypocritical about the whole thing, is that in certain communities, drug dealers, pimps and outright criminals who poison their kids minds are tollerated. These guys are fine because they turn up to jumma and give donations with their hard earned "haram" earnings. They are okay because they still believe in Allah and his messenger!
Yet someone like me who is a law abiding citizen and earns "halal" money, has to be careful and sometimes not dare to express his views. All ex-muslims ask, is to be left alone and not have to pretend, grin or nod our head at every hadith that is quoted to us. I find the behaviour of the muslim a weakness and a sign of insecurity when they feel that they have to resort to violent behaviour. Unless of course it's santioned by Allah and his messenger?
My non-muslim friends have been far more accomodating and have in fact been supportive, in that they congratulated me on being brave enough to drop islam and see it for what it is. Some of them have been indifferent and treat me in the same way as they did when I was a muslim. I suspect this is because they see religion as something private and personal and their anscestors have already been through some of the horrors five hundred years ago, with things like heresy hunts, witch burning and reformation. Islam still has that hurdle to jump.
+1
My thoughts too, very much. I think he needs help with developing a progressive Islamic theology.
Topic: The Deen of Allah